Forest School Including Main Block And Extensions

This building is a school, originally a terrace of houses, dating from the mid-18th century, with later 18th and 19th-century additions. The main block is constructed of plain brick with a pitched tiled roof. It is two storeys high with dormers, and comprises five bays, with the central three bays projecting forward and topped with a pediment containing a thermal window. A projecting central porch features Doric columns and an open pedimented design, sheltering a round-headed entrance. The windows are square-headed sashes with glazing bars. A console cornice sits above the first floor. Attached blocks flank the main block; the left block is seven bays wide, and the right block is three bays wide with a pedimented doorcase and a dormer window resembling a Serlian window. A further extension to the right includes a two-storey, four-bay block, likely from the early 19th century, featuring a full-height canted bay window and flush framed sashes. A taller three-storey, three-bay block, dated 1886 and designed by Richard Creed, forms the front facade of a two-storey dining room wing set at a right angle, also by Creed and in the Perpendicular style. The original house retains original 18th-century panelling to the entrance wall and rooms on either side, along with an 18th-century circular staircase and fireplaces. The library is lined with 17th-century panelling from the chapel of Jesus College, Oxford, and incorporates Medieval glass panels from Howden Church, Yorkshire, in one window. The Wardens’ drawing room features Soanesque decorations, a shallow plaster vault, and an apsidal end.